Palmdale man sentenced to jail for illegally importing historical 2,000-pound Hercules mosaic

A Palmdale man was sentenced Thursday to 3 months in federal jail for illegally importing a 2,000-pound historical mosaic depicting the Roman god Hercules relationship from the period of the Roman Empire through the use of fraudulent paperwork in hopes of avoiding import duties.

Yassin Alcharihi, 57, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge George W. Hu, who additionally granted the federal government’s utility for a preliminary order of forfeiture for the mosaic.

At the conclusion of a five-day trial, a jury in June 2023 discovered Alcharihi responsible of 1 depend of entry of falsely categorised items.

Federal prosecutors say the relic, which is eighteen ft lengthy, 8 ft tall and weighs 1 ton, was looted from war-torn Syria and smuggled by way of Turkey. It depicts Hercules and different figures from Roman mythology.

Alcharihi illegally imported the mosaic relationship from the third or 4th century by the use of a false classification as to its worth and high quality, prosecutors stated. The mosaic arrived on the Port of Long Beach as a part of a cargo from Turkey.

Alcharihi’s deputy federal public defender couldn’t instantly be reached for remark.

During the trial, the jury was taken to a safe space within the basement of the Los Angeles federal courthouse to view the antiquity.

Alcharihi bought the mosaic in 2015. Instead of exposing to United States customs officers that he was importing a Syrian antiquity for which he had paid about $12,000 and that he knew was value rather more, Alcharihi lied to a customs dealer and brought about the false declaration that he was importing ceramic tiles from Turkey valued at lower than $600, in accordance with prosecutors.